Civil War-Era CDV – Rev. Dudley Atkins Tyng with Brady/Anthony Backmark

Rare Civil War-Era CDV – Rev. Dudley Atkins Tyng with Brady/Anthony Backmark
 
This is an original carte de visite (CDV) of Reverend Dudley Atkins Tyng, the fiery abolitionist Episcopal minister whose tragic story and dying words inspired the beloved hymn “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus.” The photograph shows a clear bust portrait of the young clergyman, produced by the famous Brady/Anthony studio with their backmark present. The image remains visually strong overall, though the bottom of the mount has some light bending/creasing consistent with period album use. Standard CDV size (approx. 2.5 x 4 inches).
 
Dudley Atkins Tyng (1825–1858) took over as pastor of the Church of the Epiphany in Philadelphia in 1854 when his father retired. A committed abolitionist unlike his more moderate father, Tyng was forced to resign just two years later after preaching boldly against slavery. With loyal followers, he founded the Church of the Covenant. In 1858 he organized a massive rally for fathers and sons that drew 5,000 attendees, closing with the powerful declaration: “I would rather this right arm be amputated at the trunk than that I should come short of my duty to you in delivering God’s message.” Only two weeks later, while visiting a congregant’s farm and watching a threshing machine, his sleeve caught in the gears. His arm was mangled and torn from its socket. Doctors amputated it at the shoulder, but mortification set in and he died days later. On his deathbed he told his father to “stand up for Jesus.” His final words soon became the enduring hymn still sung in churches today. Contemporary newspapers, including the Delaware (Ohio) Gazette of April 23, 1858, reported the tragic accident in detail.
 
This CDV is a compelling and historically significant image of a courageous 19th-century reformer whose brief but powerful ministry left a lasting mark on American religious and abolitionist history. Brady studio portraits of notable clergy and reformers from this era are prized by collectors of religious history, Civil War prelude/antebellum material, and hymnology.